


The Offer

by amy1om



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-15
Updated: 2009-11-15
Packaged: 2017-10-15 16:46:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/162831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amy1om/pseuds/amy1om
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><b>Title:</b> The Offer</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Title:** The Offer

**Title:** The Offer

 **Author:** Amy1oM

 **Rating:** PG

 **Spoilers:** Er, Doomsday(?) and probably a few from what I've read about but never listened to Big Finish's _Gallifrey_ stories

 **Characters:** Rose Tyler, Romana III (or IV you decide), cameo by another former companion of the Doctor's

 **Summary:** In a scene taking place several hours after "Romanadvoratrelundar Meet" Rose will suddenly be offered everything she could have ever dreamed when it comes to the Doctor but will she accept it?

 **A/N:** Make what you will of the following. . . this chapter is unbetaed!

0o0

Rose stifled a yawn and laid her head back against the sofa. Her eyes followed the Doctor as he wandered the room endlessly talking to what seemed to be an unmeasurable sea of people. _His_ people. She smiled at that thought remembering very well how wounded and lonely he had been when she met him. She watched him now with the realization he seemed more content and dare she say it, more complete now than he ha at any time she could recall from their past time together.

It wasn't me he needed, she thought, it was them all along. But of course how could a stupid ape who would only live a small fraction of his lifetime ever hope to come close to offering the same level of true companionship to the Doctor that the Time Lords themselves could offer him?

Rose was suddenly very awake with the self consciousness, feeling very out of place and every bit the inferior being she knew she was in a roomful of Time Lords. She felt an urge to leave this room, and return to her own in the TARDIS and once there she knew she would have to decide what her future, if any, would be with the Doctor.

When she was about to get up and begin weaving her way out of the room, Rose felt like someone was watching her. Her eyes immediately looked for the Doctor but it wasn't him as his back was currently to her. She searched the room until she found the two pairs of eyes belonging to Romana and her bodyguard staring back at her. Leela was the name of the bodyguard, and when they had been introduced she had been told that Leela too once had traveled with the Doctor as well.

It was apparent to Rose that besides being her bodyguard Leela was also Romana's friend as the two women were clearly locked in conversation as they watched her. She didn't think it could be possible to feel anymore self conscious than she already felt but staring into the eyes of the Time Lords' most powerful leader did the trick.

The need to leave the room became even more urgent.

"Rose?" Romana's soft voice startled Rose as she had not seen her cross the room in the split second it had taken to get up. "There is something I need to speak to you about in privacy."

After a quick glance in the Doctor's direction Rose nodded, "All right." She followed Romana through the gathered Time Lords, as easier task when one was following the Lord President out the door since the crowd parted respectfully before her. Once they were outside, Romana's familiarity with the TARDIS was displayed as she led them through several corridors until they had reached a library Rose couldn't remember having been in before.

Rose waited for Romana to sit down before sitting down herself, taking the easy chair beside the one the other woman had chosen. "So what d'you want to talk to me about?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Make what you will of the following. . . this chapter is unbetaed! And sorry I have fully intended to wait until this was finished to post but since it keep growing on me I decided to go ahead and post Chapter 2 - the next chapter should probably most likely be the conclusion to this story!
> 
> Also: Make what you will of the following. . . this chapter is unbetaed! And sorry I have fully intended to wait until this was finished to post but since it keep growing on me I decided to go ahead and post Chapter 2 - the next chapter should probably most likely be the conclusion to this story!

0o0

" _So what d'you want to talk to me about?"_

Romana's smile vanished and very solemn look appeared in its place. "Please, Rose, understand what I'm about to ask you is not an attempt to pry into something that is personal for the sake of prying. There is a purpose for what I ask you."

Rose nodded, "All right, I understand."

"Do you love the Doctor?" Romana asked carefully.

Rose blinked at her, more surprised than angry she would ask something like that but she did not hesitate to answer her. "Yes, I-I love him."

"Do you want to spend the rest of your life with him?"

 _I came back because I love him! I came back because I didn't want to live the rest of my life without him!_ _But am I what he really needs now?_ Out loud she simply said, "Yes, although it is short when you compare it to how long you Time Lords live." _Or if you compare it to how long the Doctor has already lived or how much longer he will live without me_.

Romana nodded, "Yes, the hundred years humans might live are but a breath, a blink of an eye to us." She watched Rose while she said this and she saw the young woman's face fall just a little genuine sadness flashing in those eyes but what she saw quickly vanished. "But it is this matter I wish to speak to you about."

"I don't understand."

"I shall explain but first, Rose, I must ask you if the Doctor has ever told you about how we Time Lords cheat death?"

 **To Be Conclude**. . .


	3. The Offer Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **AN:** I think I've been a bit dingy in the posting of this story and if I deleted previously posted chapters only to report them I am sorry but I could have sworn I skipped the actual Chapter 3 of this.

0o0

" _I shall explain but first, Rose, I must ask you if the Doctor has ever told you about how we Time Lords cheat death?"_

"Yes, by regenerating," Rose answered. "This Doctor is not my first Doctor." She then told Romana briefly about the Doctor she had known before this one.

"So you know about regeneration then. Were you also told by the Doctor how many regenerations a Time Lord has in their lifetime?" Rose shook her head as a no. "We can regenerate normally only twelve times, which means we have thirteen lives total when you count our original bodies along with each subsequent incarnation. I, myself, am on my third regeneration and my fourth body."

"Do you know which regeneration the Doctor is on?"

"I believe his current incarnation is his tenth."

"That would be his eleventh body then, right?"

"Yes, he is and you are wondering what this has to do with what I wanted to talk to you about." Rose confirmed her statement with a nod. "The Doctor has told you that most of our population was hidden away before the end of the war?" Rose again answered her with a nod. "Hiding was seen as the only way to ensure the survival of the Time Lords. We wanted the Daleks to believe they had eradicated us to lure them to the ruins of Gallifrey and seal their annihilation by the destruction our own planet."

"Is that why the Doctor spent so much time believing he was alone in the universe?"

"Yes, it is because in addition to ending the life of his 8th incarnation, the Doctor was given the false memory that said we had all perished in the last battle. To make this falsity as completely real to him as it was to our enemies we also placed a block on his ability to sense our presence."

"But why?"

"I cannot tell you specifics reasons but it was thought to be important that the Doctor believed us to be dead along with our enemy," Romana responded, touching Rose's hand when a frown crossed the younger woman's face. "I promise you, Rose, the Doctor consented to the block and it was not done out of cruel desire to make him suffer."

Rose wanted to push the matter but something about Romana's tone and words that reminded her of times when the Doctor would button up about certain things. When that had had happened she had known she wouldn't get him to talk about it and she sensed the same was true of Romana. So she decided to turn back to Romana's original point.

"What does this have to do with me or with the Doctor?"

"After we had been freed from our holding place, and before we opened the portal into the universe where you were, the High Council of the Time Lords made an offer to the Doctor to renew his regeneration cycle."

"You mean you offered to give him thirteen more lives after he finished his original lives?" Rose asked. "You can do that?"

"Yes, it stands to reason that if we can take away a single or all regenerations in a cycle then we can grant a new cycle to an individual," Romana replied. "However, it is something that is not often done."

Thirteen more lifetimes he'd live without her. "Did he accept your offer?" Though it was only perhaps two seconds that passed before an answer was given it felt more like an eternity her.

"No, he did not." Romana waited for a second to pass before continuing, "However that was not the end of things there. You see the Doctor made a suggestion of his own regarding how we could reward him, and before I tell you what request he made of us it is important that you know we have already said yes."


	4. The Offer Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm sorry for the delay in the posting of this but the writing for this part came more slowly than it did with the previous three parts because I couldn't decide on how I wanted to write it. Anyway I hope you'll enjoy this and please leave a review if you do!
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** Don't own it and have made no money at all from this!

0o0

" _However that was not the end of things there. You see the Doctor made a suggestion of his own regarding how we could reward him, and before I tell you what request he made of us it is important that you know we have already said yes."_

"You said yeah to _what_?" Rose asked, uncertainty written on her face.

Romana stood up, and halted Rose from doing the same with a gesture of her hand. "Please stay seated." She moved closer to Rose, sitting again on the edge of her chair's arm so that she was facing her. Romana raised her hand but held back seeking consent from Rose for what she was about to do. Rose eyed the raised unsure of what she wanted from her.

"Please Rose, this will help you to understand better then if I tell you with words." Rose looked into Romana's eyes finally understanding what she wished to do and she nodded her consent. The Doctor trusted her after all and Rose knew she could trust her too. Romana touched her right temple, and closed her eyes. Rose did the same and suddenly found herself looking at the Doctor through the Time Lady's eyes.

 _The Council had withdrawn when it became clear whatever it was the Doctor wanted to ask of them he felt more comfortable asking it of Romana alone first. So the Doctor had asked Romana to take a walk with him to a long forgotten room in the TARDIS in which the last living plants of Gallifrey thrived under her devoted care. The Doctor inhaled deeply as they entered the room, and a smile stretched its way across his face._ "Schlenk blossoms! I haven't smelled them in oh what feels like a thousand years."

_They walked in silence for a long time with the Doctor working off nervous energy by inspecting every schlenk blossom he could find in their pathway. Even after the perfume of the blossoms became too much for her senses, Romana kept her silence because she knew he needed this time to gather his thoughts. She knew he would speak when he was ready to speak and not moment before. Finally after ten minutes of watching him among crawl among the schlenk blossoms the Doctor stood up and brushed off the knees of his trousers, looking at her as his hands were shoved into his pockets._

"Right, I suppose I ought to get to it then since neither of us are getting any younger, are we?"

"That's especially true in your case."

"Oi! I'll take no cheekiness from you, Romanadvoratrelundar, Lord President or not!" _He winked at her before running a hand through his hair, and clearing his throat._ "You should make note of this for future generation, the Doctor at a loss for words. I really do not know where to begin."

 _Romana laid a hand on his arm._ "Doctor, it's me. Whatever you are about to request you do not have to be embarrassed over. I'm not going to judge or ridicule you for it."

 _He looked around for a few seconds._ "Why don't we go underneath that tree over there? I have a lot I need to tell you before I tell you my request."

"All right."

_Underneath one of the silver leaved trees of Gallifrey, the Doctor told her how he had been the first days after the war's ending, after he had recovered from a serious case of regeneration sickness. He told her how he was in so much pain from the guilt he felt for deliberate the mass murder of his people by his hand that he considered finding a way to kill himself that would eliminate any sort of possibility of regeneration._

_He told her about how he had tracked the Nestene Consciousness to London on Earth, and how he had planned to stop the Consciousness at the cost of his own life. It was a plan he had had every intention of going through with until he had met Rose Tyler in the basement of Henrik's. The Doctor was unaware of this but as he spoke Rose's name Romana saw a change come across his features, a change that spoke of a joy unequaled and of a pain immeasurable._

_After she spent two more hours of listening as he told her stories of the adversaries they had fought and defeated together, Romana understood at last the source of the pain she had seen._

"I lost her _," the Doctor whispered before he began a painfully detailed recount of the battle at Canary Wharf._

"So, _" Romana said as when he finished, her voice trembled from the sadness she felt for him as he spoke the next part, "_ What you wish from us is to open the door between this unwise and hers so that you may crossover. _"_

 _The Doctor nodded, "_ Well, that's only part of it. _" He got up, stretched, and began to pace about nervously._

 _Romana watched, waiting for him to continue on speaking but all he did is pace. She finally lost her patience however and said, "_ Doctor, for Rassilon's sake, just say whatever it is! _"_

"Oh right, sorry. _" He paced a little more before sitting back down beside her. "_ Romana, this is my second regeneration since the war ended. _" He began by telling her about the encounter he and Rose had with the words 'bad wolf' either written or said aloud in so many of the time periods they had visited. He then came to the events of Satellite 5, and the last fateful confrontation his 9th incarnation would have with the Daleks._

_He told Romana had wanted Rose to be safe from the Daleks, but he knew she'd never would have went home voluntarily. So he told Romana how he had tricked Rose into going back into the TARDIS under the pretense to retrieve something for him, and how while she was inside he had activated a program that would return her home._

"I sent her home to her own time and left her a message, asking her to leave a fantastic life for me. That should have been the end of it there. She should have lived out her life on Earth while the TARDIS became a street corner curiosity that no one knew the origins of _."_

_The Doctor paused, taking a breath before he continued, "But as too often happens with the people who travel with me she decided not to listen to me, and came back."_

" _Came back how? Surely she couldn't have piloted the TARDIS herself and even if that were possible I'm sure you would have put the controls on lock down."_

"The controls were on lock down and she still came back because some how she cracked open the heart of the TARDIS and absorbed the time vortex into herself. She reduced to the atoms the Dalek emperor and every stinking Dalek present at Satellite 5 before scattering the words 'bad wolf' throughout time and space." _The Doctor have to explain the nature of Rose's self created paradox as such things were Academy Basics 101. "A_ fter the Daleks were turned to ash, Rose told me that her head was killing her. I knew the power of the vortex was beginning to kill her. So I kissed her and took the vortex into from her into myself. _"_

 _Romana saw no reason to state the obvious conclusion to his action so she elected to move on to the one thing he was avoiding. "_ Doctor, I think it is time for you to say what you would ask of the High Council. _"_

"What I would ask of the High Council is this: in lieu of the regenerations the Council was willing to give me be given to Rose Tyler instead. _" Romana opened her mouth to say something and was silenced by the Doctor laying his fingers over her mouth."_ I know she is human but I believe the short time the vortex was inside her will make it possible for her physiology to be altered to resemble that of a Time Lord. _"_

 _After he finished speaking Romana got up and made her own inspection round of the schlenk blossoms as she thought over what he had asked. When she finally faced him again it was as the Lord President of the Time Lords, formerly of Gallifrey, although she was not completely lost from the equation. "_ Doctor, what you ask is unprecedented in the entirety of our history. _"_

"I know _."_

"Not even Andred has not asked for such a similar thing as this."

"I know."

 _Romana sighed, "_ Doctor, I will present your request to the Council. However you should be prepared for their refusal on this. They may ask you to be content with us extending your Rose's life through the slowing of her aging process as we've done for Leela. _"_

"Romana, there is nothing in the universe my hearts want or desire more than what I've asked. _"_

 _Romana looked sadly at her old friend, "_ I know, and I hope for your sake they will say yes. _" I do not want to see your hearts broken any further._

0o0

 **Foot Note:** There will be one more chapter after this to wrap the last bit between Rose and Romana up.


	5. The Offer Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** If any the following is duplicated please understand it is this site's fault not my own – if you see it tell me about it and I'll correct it ASAP!

0o0

" _Romana, there is nothing in the universe my hearts want or desire more than what I've asked."_

When Romana broke contact with her mind Rose felt as though a jolt of electricity had passed its way through her body. Exhaustion quickly washed over her in its wake, and it was all Rose could do to open her eyes as her head came to rest on the back of her chair. "I'm so tired."

"The weariness you are experiencing will pass momentarily," Romana reassured her.

Rose nodded. "So the offer is you'll change my body to be like a Time Lord's?"f

"Yes, we are."

"If I agreed to this would I live as long as you or the Doctor?"

"Barring serious accidents or perhaps even illness, there is a very likely possibility you would at least live as long as the Doctor," Romana answered. "I do not include myself because I am much younger than the Doctor and I have not gone through as many of my regenerations as he has his."

"You said the Doctor is on his tenth regeneration right? If he's on his tenth how long could he live with each of his remaining regenerations barring _him_ getting hurt?"

"Barring any need for regeneration caused by serious injury, the Doctor would probably have at the very least five hundred years left to him."

Rose's eyes widened, "Five hundred years! I could live for five hundred years?"

Romana nodded, "It is possible you could live for five hundred years. But you must understand, Rose, it is as I told the Doctor that in the entirety of Time Lord history this is unprecedented. It may not be possible to predict what your life would be like or how long you could live."

"Before I say yes to this, I have two other questions I want to ask you."

"Of course ask them and I'll answer them if I can."

"You said my body will resemble a Time Lord's so does that mean I would have a second heart?"

"Yes."

Rose digested this information a moment before moving on to the next question. "Will I regenerate like you or the Doctor do?"

"Again this is unprecedented so I cannot say for certain that you would regenerate as we do meaning I do not know if your physical appearance would change as ours do but I believe it is likely you would experience a biological process similar to our own if your survival were to depend upon it." Romana waited for Rose to pose her next question but only silence followed. "Are there any other questions you wish to ask me?"

Rose dipped her head as an affirmative but she didn't ask what was on her mind. Instead she dropped her gaze to where her hands played nervously with her shirttail and she watched them while she worked up the courage to ask her question."Yeah there is one more thing I wanted to ask you."

Romana saw her nervousness and laying a hand on Rose's knee she said, "Please take your time."

Sometime passed before Rose began speaking. "See I want to know if I were to agree to you changing my body, what I want to know will it still be possible to have another. . . to have any children with him?"

"I truthfully do not know. It is not unprecedented for a Time Lord and a human to reproduce together, but it is very rare for it to be a success because of the biological differences between us our races."

"But you said my physiology would be like yours after you've changed me. Shouldn't that make it easier for us to have a child together?"

"Rose, you must understand that what we're offering is an extreme change to your body. Such a change maybe an aid or a hindrance if you decide to have any children together." When Rose didn't say anything else she added, "You don't have to give an answer right now."

How long are you going to stay with me?

The words echoed in her mind as she considered what the Time Lords were offering her, offering them. When the Doctor had asked her that question she had naively said the word FOREVER to the Doctor, believing their time together could never end and certainly it would not end so shortly after leaving that planet. A series of events no one not even the Doctor could not have stopped had happened and she had found herself stranded in the parallel universe with her mum, Mickey, and her dad's double.

But that was over three years ago, the Time Lords had returned and she was being offered her forever with her Doctor again. Rose knew she would have to accept their offer to change her body to be like a Time Lord's body if she did indeed still want that forever with the Doctor.

And she did want forever with him more than anything in the universe with the exception of perhaps one thing.

Rose lifted her eyes and looked into Romana's. "I accept your offer."

"Rose, I meant what I said. We will give you time to consider this decision."

"I want to give him forever, Romana, and I can't give him forever as along as I have a human body that'll eventually wither and die before his eyes," Rose said, blinking away tears. "I couldn't bear to hurt him like that, not when I have the chance to keep that from ever happening." Now she touched the Time Lady. "Please, I want to accept the offer."

"Very well, Rose Tyler, you shall soon be one of us."

**FIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a very GOOD chance there will be at least one more ficlet in this series as I have an idea or two I'd like to explore so keep your fingers crossed the muse will not leave me until all the stories I want to tell in this series are written out.


End file.
